Russian Orthodox Diocese of Chersonese

The Russian Orthodox Diocese of Chersonese or Diocese of Kors(o)un, headquartered in Paris, France, is a diocese of the Church of Russia in Western Europe. Its current primate is His Grace Bishop [Nestor (Sirotenko) of Korsun] or Chersonese. (Chersonese is an ancient city in the Crimea, founded by Greek colonists in the fourth century BC. According to the tradition of the Church, in this city, Prince Vladimir decided to become a Christian, opening a new page in the history of Russia.)

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History

The origin of the diocese goes back to the exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe, just after the Russian revolution in 1917, chaired by MetropolitanEuloge (Guéorguievski). Because of many problems with the Soviet controlled Mother Church, Metropolitan Euloge requested autocephalous status from Moscow, but was denied. Metropolitan Euloge did not believe that he and his flock were in the same situation as the refugees of the Karlovtsy Synod, he was looking for what he could see as a canonical solution to the situation.

In January 1931, the Moscow Patriarchate, then subjected to unprecedented persecution from the Soviet authorities, appointed Eleutherius (Bogoïavlenski) Metropolitan of Vilnius in place of Metropolitan Euloge. In March of that year, Bishop Benjamin became auxiliary bishop of the diocese and rector of the church of the Three Holy Hierarchs, which became in 1946 the headquarters of the new exarch of the Moscow patriarchate in France.

In 1945, about a year before his death, the Metropolitan Euloge returned with all its parishes within the Russian Orthodox Church and again became exarch of the Moscow patriarchate. However, after Euloge's death in 1946, Metropolitan Seraphin (Loukianov) was appointed the new exarch of the Moscow Patriarchate. A large number of parishes, contesting Archbishop Seraphin, again broke from the mother Church. These parishes have spawned the current exarchate of the Russian parishes in Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Today's Diocese of Chersonese, strictly speaking, was born in the late 1980s as the heir of the exarchate of Western Europe.

Organization

The Diocese of Chersonese includes the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, and Portugal. Its current seat is the Three Holy Hiearchs' Church in Paris, France, but planning for the construction of a large cathedral in central Paris in cooperation with the Russian and French governments is underway. In addition to the parishes, monasteries, and chapels under its care the Diocese of Korsun also operates a theological seminary in Épinay-sous-Sénart, France.